# First CC's... Hopefully



## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

A friend is traveling to Ecuador this week and offered to buy me some CCs. I've never even smoked a CC yet, let alone bought any. I've already suggested he visit the LCDH in Quito, but I'm completely lost on what to ask him to buy. I'm also in the dark about what sort of prices he might see. For NCs I tend to go towards Maduros. What kind of price range can I expect him to see for a decent CC in a robusto or toro? And yes, I know this is a vague question and is smoker dependent, but I'm just hoping for some general guidance here. Thanks!


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

lex61 said:


> A friend is traveling to Ecuador this week and offered to buy me some CCs. I've never even smoked a CC yet, let alone bought any. I've already suggested he visit the LCDH in Quito, but I'm completely lost on what to ask him to buy. I'm also in the dark about what sort of prices he might see. For NCs I tend to go towards Maduros. What kind of price range can I expect him to see for a decent CC in a robusto or toro? And yes, I know this is a vague question and is smoker dependent, but I'm just hoping for some general guidance here. Thanks!


First things first. Put what you like about NCs outta your head (Apples and Baseballs).. No pepper bomb/ chocolate bar profiles that I know of in CCs. My advice would be Cuaba, HU, Boli's. You'll get Parti suggestions from ALOT of people.. They're not wrong..

If they do custom rolls, that's how I'd go.

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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Not too many in what we'd call a "toro" in NC's... Montecristo Edmundo, H.Upmann Magnum 50, or San Cristobal de la Habana La Fuerza may fit the bill.

In Robustos there are many. I'd aim for Bolivar Royal Coronas, Partagas Serie D No. 2, Ramon Allones Specially Selected, and Romeo y Julieta Short Churchills (preferably in tubes).

You can also shoot for Cohibas, though they are considerably more expensive than most other brands. Siglo VI for a toro-ish size and Cohiba Robustos (CoRo) for that iconic size.

I have no idea what prices will be like, but you can bet they won't be cheap. And good call on sticking to the LCDH. Folks I've encountered on the forums from there say the country is rife with counterfeits.

BTW, there are maduros in the Cohiba and Partagas lines, though HTF. But from what I'm told they don't relate well to what you expect from an NC maduro (never had one myself, mainly due to reviews).


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

The aforementioned Bolivar Royal Corona would be my suggestion. In a Mexican LCdH I would expect to pay around $17 USD per cigar. But I have no idea what they would cost in Ecuador.

Also as was mentioned above, some LCdHs have house rollers and sell custom rolls. I enjoy most of these, but it’s completely dependent on the roller and leaf.

The main thing is to make sure that your friend doesn’t get discount Cubans. They will be available, and almost certainly fakes.


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Some good feedback here and much appreciated. The Ramon Allones was one I'd read about earlier and it looked interesting.


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

lex61 said:


> Some good feedback here and much appreciated. The Ramon Allones was one I'd read about earlier and it looked interesting.


The Ramon Allones Specially Selected is an excellent cigar. Has some dark fruity notes.

It is one of the true robustos.

Certainly worth a try.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

lex61 said:


> A friend is traveling to Ecuador this week and offered to buy me some CCs. I've never even smoked a CC yet, let alone bought any. I've already suggested he visit the LCDH in Quito, but I'm completely lost on what to ask him to buy. I'm also in the dark about what sort of prices he might see. For NCs I tend to go towards Maduros. What kind of price range can I expect him to see for a decent CC in a robusto or toro? And yes, I know this is a vague question and is smoker dependent, but I'm just hoping for some general guidance here. Thanks!


Prices in Ecuador that is a tough one you got me. 
If your asking for robusto / toro recommendations based on my personal likes.
Here they are in order.

PSD#4
Bolivar Royal Corona's
CORO
RASS
JL#2

:vs_cool:


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## Navistar (May 24, 2016)

TonyBrooklyn said:


> Prices in Ecuador that is a tough one you got me.
> If your asking for robusto / toro recommendations based on my personal likes.
> Here they are in order.
> 
> ...


Perfect start and should be easy to find


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Well gang it appears to be a moot point now. I got a text this morning saying he didn't have time to get to LCDH so he rolled the dice...










I'm not optimistic but maybe I'll at least have some cigars to give out to my golf buddies that always forget to bring cigars.


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

lex61 said:


> Well gang it appears to be a moot point now. I got a text this morning saying he didn't have time to get to LCDH so he rolled the dice...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I bet he got them for a really special price. "Just for you".

I personally wouldn't suggest smoking any, or even giving them away.


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## Bird-Dog (Oct 16, 2009)

Rolled the dice? It's a rigged game. Your unreliable friend just screwed you over big-time if he expects you to pay for those.

There's a lesson in there for others. Tell your friends and relatives that you appreciate the thought, but "_If you don't get them at an LCDH, don't get them at all!_"


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

curmudgeonista said:


> Rolled the dice? It's a rigged game. Your unreliable friend just screwed you over big-time if he expects you to pay for those.
> 
> There's a lesson in there for others. Tell your friends and relatives that you appreciate the thought, but "_If you don't get them at an LCDH, don't get them at all!_"


That's the good news. I already told him they were almost certainly counterfeits and he doesn't expect me to pay for them.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

lex61 said:


> Well gang it appears to be a moot point now. I got a text this morning saying he didn't have time to get to LCDH so he rolled the dice...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sure would have been nice to see the cigars themselves.
The horror almost always deters others.
From attempting the same tragedy.
As far as not paying your friend do you think that is really the right thing to do.
After all he did spend the money.


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

We’ll sort that out when he gets back. I’ll also post more pics if and when I get the cigars.


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

My "Cohibas" purchased in Ecuador showed up here today. The bad, but unsurprising, news is they're definitely fakes. The good news is there is only five of them and not a whole box.





































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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

lex61 said:


> My "Cohibas" purchased in Ecuador showed up here today. The bad, but unsurprising, news is they're definitely fakes. The good news is there is only five of them and not a whole box.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's like they didn't even try.. Damn, even counterfeiters are getting lazy.

I bought my new gym bag at the same place..









Sent from Joe's other recliner


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## PTAaron (Sep 1, 2017)

To my slightly trained eye I’m seeing: inconsistent ring size, inconsistent caps, labels are all over the place (not lined up with each other), no holograms on the labels, and the printing is really rough... anything else?


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## Ranger0282 (Mar 12, 2016)

It would be interesting to cut one open and see what is inside....


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## LeatherNeck (Feb 8, 2017)

OH BOY! Those ain't even close! They look like a dog just sh*t them out. Seriously, they're that bad. 
Hey, I'm going to Ohio next month to buy some beachfront property; you want in on the deal? 
Ok, yea that was wrong...my bad.


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Ranger0282 said:


> It would be interesting to cut one open and see what is inside....


Yeah I figured that's my next step. I'll post more pics when I do that.

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## 4thtry (Feb 24, 2008)

Was this ever sorted out with the friend? Those are horrible fakes and I’m not even that savvy when distinguishing a good fake from the real deal. Those are way off. 


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

4thtry said:


> Was this ever sorted out with the friend? Those are horrible fakes and I'm not even that savvy when distinguishing a good fake from the real deal. Those are way off.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


It's been sorted out. I've actually been texting him this afternoon since I got them and have a little bit more information about them. Bear in mind that he does not smoke cigars but will on occasion pick up some from custom roll houses in Tampa and New Orleans. The total cost for five cigars was $25 and the shop in Ecuador didn't even bother putting these cigars in a humidor! This will easily be settled over dinner and a couple of beers. He's actually laughing at himself for being so stupid about it. One other thing that came out of it was he said he occasionally buys Cubans when he travels to Canada and he's now wondering about that. Are counterfeits an issue there as well? I know taxes are heavy in Canada, but are there LCDH in Canada he could go to if he wanted?


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## PTAaron (Sep 1, 2017)

lex61 said:


> It's been sorted out. I've actually been texting him this afternoon since I got them and have a little bit more information about them. Bear in mind that he does not smoke cigars but will on occasion pick up some from custom roll houses in Tampa and New Orleans. The total cost for five cigars was $25 and the shop in Ecuador didn't even bother putting these cigars in a humidor! This will easily be settled over dinner and a couple of beers. He's actually laughing at himself for being so stupid about it. One other thing that came out of it was he said he occasionally buys Cubans when he travels to Canada and he's now wondering about that. Are counterfeits an issue there as well? I know taxes are heavy in Canada, but are there LCDH in Canada he could go to if he wanted?


There are LCDH in Canada... so yeah he could go there if he had a lot of cash to spend


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## UBC03 (Nov 18, 2015)

They're up there. But you'll spend a car payment on a bundle of JLPs.. 

Sent from Joe's other recliner


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## Kidvegas (Oct 17, 2016)

lex61 said:


> Well gang it appears to be a moot point now. I got a text this morning saying he didn't have time to get to LCDH so he rolled the dice...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Sucks that you buddy didn't take your advice and instead decided to Wing It on his own. I'm sure he made whichever local hack who was selling those turd rockets very happy!

Hope you have some better experiences in the future bro!

Sent from my Recliner


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

Here's what one of these looks like in various stages of deconstruction.

I picked this one since the wrapper was already peeling.










Wrapper removed...










Binder...










Filler at least resembles a tobacco leaf to start...



















Smells about like you might expect. Old leaves with maybe a bit of dog turd mixed in. 

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## WABOOM (Oct 15, 2015)

The fake I opened up had a little plastic thread tied around the bunched filler.


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## bozoo (Sep 26, 2016)

WABOOM said:


> The fake I opened up had a little plastic thread tied around the bunched filler.


wtf;
You must be kidding, sir!


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## WABOOM (Oct 15, 2015)

bozoo said:


> wtf;
> You must be kidding, sir!


Here's a pic


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## lex61 (Nov 18, 2016)

I really feel cheated now. It's a true artisan who will go the extra mile to add plastic string to ensure his cigar stays together!


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## bozoo (Sep 26, 2016)

Yeah, they probably used the plastic wire to keep the short filler in place. But can you imagine smoking it? One could actually (try to) do that. Glad you decided to open it rather than "enjoy" it.


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## PTAaron (Sep 1, 2017)

I feel kind of lucky that the fake I was given at least smelled like cedary aged tobacco and was properly constructed without surprises when dissected!


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## PTAaron (Sep 1, 2017)

PTAaron said:


> I feel kind of lucky that the fake I was given at least smelled like cedary aged tobacco and was properly constructed without surprises when dissected!


My dissection photos if anyone wants more carnage:
http://www.cigarforums.net/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=262714


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